A Kurdish official said on Thursday that the territories disputed between the Kurdistan Regional GovernmentKurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi federal government are at risk of losing their Kurdish identity.
Fahmi Burhan, the head of the Kurdistan Region’s board for disputed territories, told Rudaw’s Nwenar Fatih that the conditions of the Kurdish population of the towns of Khanaqin, Mandali, and Saadiya are deteriorating due to negligence by the Iraqi government and its failure to ensure security in the areas.
“In Khanaqin, we have land and orchard issues. The orchards are being burned and issues related to them are not resolved. The concerns of the farmers have yet to be resolved,” Burhan said, adding that despite the town’s identity being “completely Kurdish” Khanaqin still faces an exodus of its Kurdish population due to the issues linked to its status as disputed territory.
Out of 6000 contracts legally legitimizing the occupation of agricultural lands that had been confiscated from Kurdish owners in Khanaqin under Baathis rule, only 1800 were annulled, explained the official, adding that while Arab landowners were compensated for said annulment, the lands have yet to be handed back to the original Kurdish owners.
The Kurdish official expressed his dismay that at times the issues of the disputed areas are addressed solely through the implementation of the Iraqi constitution’s Article 140, an approach he claims fails to encompass the complexity of the issues faced by the Kurdish population of the disputed territories. He stressed that said challenges span across the fields of security, education and limitations imposed on the use of the Kurdish language.
Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution details steps to resolve a dispute between the federal and regional governments who both claim jurisdiction over disputed areas of the country such as Kirkuk province.
Burhan claimed the ratio of Kurds in the sub districts of Mandali and Saadiya has decreased significantly over recent years, and that the towns have lost part of their Kurdish identity.
The Kurdish official noted that 24 villages around Khanaqin have been evacuated due to the failure of the Iraqi government to ensure the security of the areas.
“This is the greater issue… for example, from the fear of ISIS [Islamic State] a villager cannot return to his village, and his security is not protected,” he said, adding that even those who return to their villages are facing other challenges such as not being able to drill wells or be given their share of fertilizers for agriculture by the Iraqi government.
According to the Kurdish official, there is a difference between the Iraqi government’s decisions and decrees and its actions on the ground, adding that the board he heads has informed top Kurdish officials about the situation.
Burhan said that while the board is hopeful about the steps taken by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s government, but that nevertheless, the steps taken fail to meet the expectations of the Kurdish population of the disputed areas.
The territories disputed between Iraq’s central government in Baghdad and the KRG in Erbil include areas in Nineveh province, as well as the provinces of Kirkuk, Salahaddin, and Diyala.
The disputed territories were once home to ethnically diverse populations, but under Baathist rule, Iraq’s ethnic minority groups including Kurds were expelled, their land confiscated and given to Arab settlers.
Article 140 of the 2005 Iraqi constitution, calls for compensation for both Arab settlers and expelled Kurds, and the return of confiscated lands to their Kurdish owners. To this day the article has yet to be implemented.[1]